The mystery of the tenement house at 13 Krawiecka Street (ul. Krawiecka 13) in Opole
The permanent exhibition of the Museum of Opole Silesia also includes a perfectly preserved hand bailing well, built in the 17th century. The well was discovered during construction works carried out in March 1966. Its upper edge was exposed at a depth of 2.10 m from the street level, under the foundation of the renovated building at 13 Krawiecka Street. The entrance to the building is on the museum square, from ul. Muzealna.
The well’s casing is made of hewn granite stones in the upper and middle parts, and pine boards in the lower part. The bottom of the well was carved out of marl rock. The total depth of the well is 8.80 m, and its diameter is from 1.40 m to 0.97 m. In 1966, the water level was 3.65 m below the upper edge of the casing. The water inside the well was clean, and only in the wooden formwork were a few fragments of modern vessels.
The wooden part of the lining was erected in a column-frame structure, i.e., it consists of four vertically driven posts, against which the horizontally arranged boards were reposed, butt-joined in the corners. Transverse struts were placed between the columns, preventing them from collapsing under the pressure of the excavation walls.